In order to send data in a Communications network from point to multi-point it may be necessary to send point to multi-point data encapsulated in a point to point message. In order to be compatible with both methods of transmission one must create a protocol that rides on top of the infrastructure being used for communication. Most communication protocols have provisions for point to multi-point transmission but this type of support is optional and in many cases not supported. Until all communication protocols are required to support secure reliable point to multi-point messaging their will be a need for an overlaying protocol to allow for point to multi-point secure reliable transmission.
The current infrastructure for Point to Multi-Point Communications on such as ATM and IP commonly have drawbacks that this invention addresses.
A method for transmission of data (usually radio or television) from one sender to many receivers. For example: when one sends a IP or UPD packet the arrival of the packet at the destination is not guaranteed. This has become known as “fire it and forget it” transmission. The problem is that many types of communication protocols are also “fire and forget it” type of transmissions. Reliability is accomplished by best effort, and security is not addressed by the protocol at all. The solution is to create a new protocol (set of rules) that uses the existing infrastructure to create a secure, reliable, and scalable “one to many” transmission solution. While there may be many schemes to provide reliability and security to the Internet, these types all fail to be inter-operable.
It is the failure of interoperability that lead to the invention which is the subject of this patent application.